Category Archives: LEGO

You’d probably expect a lot of the posts on a LEGO website like The Brothers Brick to be about LEGO, and you’d be right. If you’re browsing this page, you might want to consider narrowing what you’re looking for by checking out categories like “Space” and “Castle.” We’re sure there’s something here that’ll fascinate and amaze you.

Eastwood’s lucky day

There’s never a shortage of Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II nostalgia. However, for the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future Part III, the 1990 film gets its due respect in a LEGO remake of Doc Brown’s timely rescue of Marty McFly from Biff Tannen and his goons. Brick Grayson is the creator of this memorable western scene. The Hill Valley Courthouse (1885) is shown under construction with a wooden scaffold covering the facade. The Biff minifigure is holding the rope, while Marty (a.k.a. Eastwood), hangs at the other end. Standing near the top left of the construction site is what seems to be Marty’s great-great-grandfather Seamus McFly, wearing a derby hat. The Marty McFly from the future is wisely sourced using the cowboy torso from the series 18 CMF, along with the addition of pink arms to contrast the maroon-colored pants. The printed fringe shirt worn by Marty McFly also lines up pretty close to the LEGO version.

Check out Brick Grayson’s previous BTTF III scene from Marty’s wild west escape.

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Here is New York City, from a brick’s eye view

The view of New York City from the street level comes with a mixed bag of emotions: excitement, curiosity, and for some natives and tourists, claustrophobia. The beauty of its skyline however, when observed from a bird’s eye view, can turn the metropolis into a piece of art like a LEGO sculpture. A new brick-built model of Manhattan, designed by Axcit is awe-inspiring in its overall scale of 144 cm (56 in) long, down to the details of the many landmarks he was able to fit in the model. In a Reddit post of his masterpiece, Axcit drew hundreds of comments. Between compliments and requests for building instructions, what took the cake were the differing opinions on its authenticity, flying like a typical New York debate of where to get the best pizza (sans NY accent).

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A bold and daring trio of Art Nouveau buildings

Come see the latest Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) additions on the New Century City Block III. Each unique in its color, flair, and technique, Eero Okkonen has spent two years working on the buildings, drawing inspiration from real-life buildings and researching how the Art Nouveau movement has found its way into Finnish architecture. I’d say it was two years well-spent!

Click here to have a detailed tour of the block..!

Sleek yellow starfighter once flown by Anakin

The Nubian N-1 starfighter seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace wasn’t the only yellow starfighter that Anakin ever flew, but it was the first. In this model by Kit Bricksto there are a few nice details worth pointing out. First, there is the subtly angled area between the main fuselage and the wings, which matches up quite nicely with the canopy. Cheese slopes are used to create a near-circular engine, a very close match to the on-screen inspiration. Lastly, the shaping of the pointed rear of the craft is a great alternative to more common large sloped parts.

Edwina Scissorhands and I would have totally been besties!

The film Edward Scissorhands inspired a generation of teens to tease their hair, put on black lipstick, listen to Bauhaus and sulk about pretending that their very touch brings pain to anyone who would love them due to their horrible affliction of having scissorhands. Or something. I have to admit, the untouchable, artsy sullen bad-boy image was quite appealing to me as a young man. But what if you dig the look and also happen to be female? Letranger Absurde has you covered with this Edwina Scissorhands LEGO creation. She has all the sullen gothy put-upon misguidedness as her male counterpart excpet she’s wearing an awesome skirt. We would have totally been besties when I was eighteen!

Now that I’m middle-aged and with Bauhaus still frequenting my current Pandora playlist not much has changed, other than I’m paunchier than I used to be and my days having hair to tease is long gone. Frankly, I’m not sure if I could pull off the whole outfit anymore either. But do you like the idea of a paunchy, balding Edward Scissorhands wannabe? Soak it in, ladies and gents! Or not. Whatevs! Just check out the archives.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 1, 2020

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of August 2020.

The Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey may have been cancelled, but we were able to get one to show you a close up look. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB REVIEWS AND INSTRUCTIONS: This week we reviewed two new Star Wars sets, got a look at the now-canceled Technic Osprey, and finally got our hands on that most precious of all cargo, Baby Yoda… sorry, “The Child”.

LEGO Star Wars 75317 The Mandalorian & the Child (Baby Yoda) BrickHeadz characters [Review] – The Mandalorian & the Child BrickHeadz makes us giggle with joy. It might make you smile, too.
LEGO Star Wars 75284 Knights of Ren Transport Ship from The Rise of Skywalker [Review] – Read our review to find out if LEGO Star Wars 75284 Knights of Ren Transport Ship (due for release Sept. 1st) is worth the $70 price tag.
LEGO Star Wars 75291 Death Star Final Duel takes us to the Emperor’s Throne Room [Review] – The LEGO Star Wars lineup is not known for stellar location-based playsets, often overshadowed by speeders and starfighters. Have times changed?
LEGO Technic 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey [Review] – The Technic Osprey had every chance to become one of the best LEGO Technic sets of recent years. But there is a problem.
How to build a swell little well! [Instructions] – Come build along with Tiago Catarino as he shows you how to make a minifigure-scale well!
Your guide to the 113 new LEGO sets now available for August 2020 including the Nintendo NES, Grand Piano, Star Wars and more – We have your complete guide to the 100+ new LEGO sets now available for August including the NES, Grand Piano, 501st Battle Pack and more!

OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:

From LEGO To Lasers: Kids Invent The Coolest Things, Forbes – Kids use LEGO to solve real-life construction issues.
How we’re continuing to support families impacted by COVID-19, The LEGO Group – LEGO committed to delivering learning through play support and vital supplies to crisis-affected children – here’s how they’re doing.

LEGO Astronaut Model Arrives at Legoland Florida, Bay News 9 – Legoland Florida has welcomed the arrival of a new display from the Kennedy Space Center that is made out of nearly 66,000 bricks and is “out-of-this-world!”
LEGO Assembles Massive Super Mario Build Made Out Of Nearly 23,000 Bricks, Nintendo Life – To celebrate the arrival of Super Mario LEGO, LEGO has assembled a “massive” Mario build made out of nearly 23,000 bricks.

WOW! It looks like LEGO Mario got a power-up ???? pic.twitter.com/rqdYK2v9bu

— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) July 26, 2020

First look at the new LEGO Star Wars 75294 Bespin Duel set [News]

As reported by our friends at Brickset, the building instructions for the upcoming LEGO Star Wars 75294 Bespin Duel set is available right now from LEGO.com. The design of the building guide reflects its 18+ positioning, with the adult Star Wars fans as the target audience of the toy. The set was meant to be a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive, but due to the event being canceled, the future of the product isn’t clear. We presume the set might be available elsewhere, but for now, you can study the instructions and probably try to build your own version of the iconic scene.

LEGO BrickHeadz 40412 Hagrid and Buckbeak from Harry Potter revealed [News]

Thanks to a Hungarian toy retailer Kockashop we get an early reveal of the latest Harry Potter 40412 Hagrid and Buckbeak BrickHeadz showcasing a dual-pack featuring Hagrid and Buckbeak. The set consists of 270 pieces, and while no official price has been revealed, based on previous dual pack issues, it will likely retail for $19.99 US and $24.99 CAN.

Click to take a closer look at Hagrid and Buckbeak

This little tractor has a lot of pull

This microscale LEGO tractor by BrickJonas could possibly be accused of hot-dogging it. Or should I have let that sort of pun skate on by? Either way, there’s some really nice part usage here, and the tricky connection that holds the front end on is also really clever. This much detail in just 25 pieces? It’s exhausting to think about.

If you’re in for the long haul, check out our tractor archives for more!

Your guide to the 113 new LEGO sets now available for August 2020 including the Nintendo NES, Grand Piano, Star Wars and more [News]

August has arrived and that means new LEGO sets! LEGO has launched 108 new sets and items available today. In addition to new sets like the Nintendo NES and Super Mario lineup, Ideas Grand Piano, Star Wars 501st Battle Pack and LEGO Art, fans in the US and Canada can finally celebrate the summer arrival of Harry Potter, Creator 3-in-1, City, and Ninjago waves that you’ve waited so patiently for. Nearly every LEGO theme has some new sets–it can be a lot to process!– so we have your complete guide right here detailing each and every new set and item. [EDIT: It appears that LEGO may have delayed the US & Canada release of some of these sets until September. We’ve asked for clarification.]

LEGO is also offering two free gifts-with-purchases at the start of August. The first is 30385 Super Mushroom Surprise, free with purchases of LEGO Super Mario sets more than US $40 through August 16th or while supplies last.

The second freebie is LEGO is also 40414 Monty Mole & Super Mushroom Expansion with in-store purchases of the 71360 Adventures with Mario Starter Course through August 9th or while supplies last.

See the entire August 2020 wave of new LEGO sets now available

The castle with windows a-plenty

The 1×1 plate with a printed black square showed up in 2017 as an architectural element in a few different LEGO sets. It has become a popular detailing element, especially in micro builds. This castle by Luka (First Order LEGO) has used it here to give this lovely little castle windows and contrast. He also used air tanks for the gate and seep, as well as white wands on the spires. I’m not sure if it’s intended, but the icy white and grey-blue look gives me a wintery vibe. Even more so with the nifty use of the medium blue Exo-Force hair on the lone tree near the base of the castle.

While you’re here, check out more of Luka’s excellent builds in our First Order LEGO archives.

What’s behind the mask?

At first glance, you might think you’re looking at Optimus Prime sporting Rodimus Prime’s maroon color scheme and pinstripes from the original Transformers. Think again. This semi-truck is way more than meets the eye because it is a LEGO Creation of Rhino from M.A.S.K., the signature shape-shifting tractor rig/mobile defense unit from the 1985 Kenner toy line and animated series. Builder Hobbestimus actually made this his third version of Rhino, now complete with almost all the specs of its retro counterpart: battering ram, smokestack cannons, missile launcher (doesn’t actually launch), mobile computer command center, and detachable all-terrain vehicle, according to his Flickr page.

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